The world of work can be a little intimidating sometimes, here are a few tips on being a well-rounded professional in general.

1. 3 Waysto be a More Well-RoundedProfessional
Let’sface it, professionalismisnochild’splayguys.There isnostraightforwardwayto easilysay“Yes!I
am a professional because I’ve tickedall the boxesof how tobe a professional!”because guess what
there are no boxestotick because there isnoone-size fitsall toguide eachone of us on how
professionalismlookslike.The truthis,itprobablylooksdifferentforpeople of differentpersonality
typesandbackgroundsbecause we eachbringdifferentthingstothe table andtherefore experience the
worlda bitdifferentlyfromthe nextperson.Noworries,Iknow itcan all be a little bitconfusingasto
whatis expectedof youinthe worldof productivityanddream-chasinginmostcorporate andbusiness
environments,butIam here tobreak downthe 3 main basicsof how tobring yourA-game tothese
oftenchallengingenvironmentsandbe the bestpresence aroundthe office whoeveryoneisgoingto
collaborationoradvice simplybecauseyouseemtohave ahandle onwhat it’sall supposedtobe about!
So here we go.Kicking-off withmyprofessionalismTed-talk.Letme tell youthisgame isa layeredgame
made-upof manylayersbutas mentionedbefore we shall assumethat there are onlythree fornowfor
time-savings’andsimplicity’s sake.
So the firstlayerof professionalismwhichisthe mostobviousisyoursocial etiquette,people skillsand
justyour general attitude whenitcomestoworkingtomake a name foryourself inyourindustry,
makingan impactand finallyrakinginthatgoldencoin.Thinkof itlike this,sayyouhada competitor
that wasofferingjustthe same service orskill setasyouare and saymaybe theywere evenslightly
betterthanyou at doingthis.Nowlet’sassume thatyouare one of those difficultpeople whoare hard
to read,neversaywhat theyare thinkingorwhat theyneed,are alwaysfindingthe worstineverything
and are veryverbal abouttheircomplaintsbutneverseemtocome upwitha shredof inputabouthow
to make theiror yoursharedspace or challengesbetter.Youknow those people,theyare typically
labelledas“difficult”toworkwith.
Nowon the otherhand youa competitorwhoisone of those people onthe flip-side of the coin,the
onesthat seemtoalways have highenergyandpassionforwhattheydo no matterhow longthey’ve
beenat itor how difficultthe tasksetinfrontof themis,these people seemlike energizerbunnies,their
enthusiasmanddrive forgettingthingsdone seemstoooze outof a mysteriousplace thatnoone is any
privyto knowingjusthowtheydoit.Theyare the onesthat are checkingupon people aroundthe
office,constantlyupdatingcolleagues/partnersabouttheirlatestprofessional (maybe evenpersonal if
youhappento be close enoughtothem) excursionsandare eagertoknow what’sbeengoingonwith
youas well anybodythatisinterestingandinterestedenoughtokeepthisinterestinpeoplearoundthe
office andthe statusof theirbeingsofar alightwiththem.Youneverhave toguess what’sgoingwith
these kindof personbecause theyweartheirheartontheirsleevesandputitall out to bearso that
withthemyourlife issimplifiedthatyoudon’thave tokeepupacts or guesswhere theirthoughtsand
well-beingmightbe because,theirpolicyis,whatyousee iswhatyou get. Theyare oftenlabelledasthe
“girl-next-door”of the office.
Nowaftertellingyouall this,letme askyoua question.If youandyour competitorhadto compete for
the same clientandthe client hadtochoose betweenworkingwith“the difficultone”or“the girl-next-
door” eventhoughtheyyoucan bothdo the same thingfor him/herequallywell.Whichone doyou
thinkthe clientwill choose toworkwith?Exactly!!!Thisfirstlayeristhe “essence”of anyprofessional
and itlookslike atrivial aspect,buttrust me,itis oftenthose aspectswe take forgrantedthat come

2. back to bite us.So be careful now,be aware of youressence andtake time toimprove itif there’sroom
for improvementandgirl!Youcan thankme later
Movingonto the secondlayerof whatit takesto be a more well-roundedprofessionalinthe world: For
thisone you have tolookat howyoupresentyourself intermsof presence,whatimportance youplace
on youreffortsandthe products of your worksthereof andmostimportantlyhow wellyoupresentyour
workto othersin timesmaking“ashow”about how importantitmay be for themto discoverit.This
aspectsisabout howyougenerallyoccupyspace andhow you regardthe results of youroccupationof
that space.How youoccupy space and how youfeel aboutthe resultsof thatwill generallybe agood
predictorof howyou presentyourworkintermsof enthusiasmandimportance toothers.If you
generallyare ashamedof existing,you oftenwonderwhatexactlyyourpurpose forbeingisandyou
wouldratherpeople notbotherevennoticingyoubecause well,youthinktheywouldbe wastingtheir
time because there isgenerallynothinggoodtodiscover.
Thenyou fall intothe categoryof the “hider”or the “part-of-the-wallpaper”person.If youare thistype
of personyouwill mostlikelyshyawayfromattentionof anykindwhetheritbe positive ornegative.
You mightstruggle togracefullyacceptcomplimentsandjustbrushthemoff sayingtheyare nothing
and will mostprobablyfindcriticismverypainful totake andtendto take it personallyevenif itwasnot
intendedthisway.Additionallyyouwilllikelynotenjoyhavingyourpresence oropinionacknowledged
since youwant tomake as little registeraspossibletoavoidhavingtooccupyand ownthe attentionthis
will bring.A subsequent butundesiredeffectof thiskindof presentingof self tothe worldwill resultin
youneverpromotingyourworkwell enoughtoothers,Imeanyouhide as a person,how are others
evensupposedtonotice the productif itsoriginisscarcelynoticeable?Dowe eatthe honeywhile we
ignore the bees?Sobe careful of this.
On the otherhand if you take pride inhow youoccupyspace.You are all for grand-entrancesand
dramaticemphasisto the unfoldingof yourlife and yourexperiences,evenif the mosttrivial of ones.
You revel in garneringattentionandyoutrulyreally“own-it”whetheritbe the space youoccupy or the
productsof that presence thereof.Imeanaccordingtoyou,you are the bestthingthat everhappened
to the worldand youwill be damnedif itdoesn’t juststandupand take note,butyou alsorequire itsfull
appreciationof the gifttothe worldthat is yourbeing.
The resultsof thisunashamedlyloudandnoteworthyoccupationof space and itsresults thereof causes
youto work incrediblyhardatfeedingthe worldthe factof yourawesomenessof yourbeing,andyou
constantlyseekingaffirmationthatyourpresence inthe worldisindeedagifttothe world.Sowith
everythingyoudo youare regal,youare noteworthy,yourequire lotsof engagementandfeedbackto
thrive anda resultof this isa veryboldsolicitationof yourworksasthe bestever.You neversecond
guessyourself becauseyouare the besteverinthe world.Whocan everdoubtthe verybest?Asresult
youlove feedbackof anykindandas much as youenjoypositive feedback.Youactuallyalsoappreciate
constructive negativefeedbackbecauseyouknow thatitgivesyouan opportunitytoimprove yourself
and yourcraft. Thissecondlayerof the well-roundedwhole isthe “packaging”of yourprofessionalism.
Please friend,IbetI donot have to tell youwhichone of these packagesyoushouldseektobe,Imean,
itsquietobviousdon’tyouthink?
Nowto round-off, let’saddressthe lastbutabsolutely mostcrucial layerof how tobe the mostwell
roundedprofessional inthe world. Let’scall thislastone the “core”of your professionalism, thisone is
the answeryouwouldgive yourself if youwere toaskyourself the question:“Youcan talkthe talk but

3. can you actuallywalkthe walk?”Youcan eitherbe verygoodat what youdo (or at leastbe working
extremelyhard andgenuinelydoingyourbest tobe the best),oryou can sitaround sellingfacesand
pretendingtobe somethingyou’renot knowingly,and be actuallyterrible atwhatyoudo,and God-
forbid, justbe goodat convincing othersthatyou’re the real deal while youknow verywellthatyou’re
far fromit. It isquite obviousthe prosandcons of bothapproachesto the caliberof technical prowess
or justplaintalentedartisticfinesseatwhatyoudo. If you are the first,youare makinganhonestliving
and no matterif youfail or winat thisapproach, youwill nodoubtbe able to sleepwellatnight. If you
are a professionalof the secondvariety,Icansay goodluck withkeepingyourconscience incheck,
that’sif you evenhave adecentone. Please darlings,thislastone isthe mostcrucial one of all three
because itisactuallythe onlytangible substance of all the three layerswhenitcomestothe nature of
your professionalism.
Alrightmybeloveds.Thankyouforreadingthisfarand actuallyhearingme out.Happy professionalism-
building! 